Never kicked out

Andrew Gimson thinks the transformation of our railways would not have occurred had they remained in public hands (Comment, 1 January). But BR did not have access to the amount of money now swilling around the system. Not for nothing was it known to be the most cost-effective railway in Europe and had a simple fare structure, readily understood by the public. One final point: has anybody noticed the scale of Network Rail's debt? Do I see a fiscal cliff ahead?Alan SmithTwickenham, Middlesex

• Just how, exactly, does Martin Kettle think the public punished Bush and Blair for failing to kick the Iraqi can down the road (Comment, 3 January)? Both were subsequently re-elected, and neither ever lost an election.Robert SaundersLondon

• AP Herbert's exposition of the correct usage of "infer" and "imply" (Letters, 1 January) cannot, I think, be bettered: " 'Infer' is a sort of thinking and 'imply' is a sort of saying. If you see a man staggering along the road you may infer that he is drunk, without saying a word; but if you say 'Had one too many?' you do not infer but imply that he is drunk."Jo GibsonLiverpool

• Alistair Johnson (Letters, 2 January) is quite right to defend Auld Lang Syne against accusations of its being a "dirge". However, he – and the Guardian in titling his letter "Pentatonic Burns" – make a common error regarding the song. It was not, as the man himself acknowledged in writing on several occasions, written by Robert Burns. Auld Lang Syne is a traditional piece of unknown authorship, which first appeared in print several decades before Burns was born.Martyn SmithCroydon, Surrey

• Your bearded leftie correspondent longs for the return of the gender-neutral "comrade" to replace "guys" (Letters, 3 January). When I joined the Fife Labour party in the late 80s, I and others of the non-bearded gender were often referred to as "comrade sister".Christine MayKirkcaldy, Fife

• If the proposal to apply performance-related pay to teachers is such a good idea, why not apply it MPs?David EvansChester